The Butterfly Boot Jack Project

In March of 2016 I came up with the idea of creating a unique and visually appealing version of a boot jack. It's a simple device that lays on the floor, and you wedge the heel of a booted foot into the "V" of the boot jack. This lets you pry off a tight-fitting boot or shoe. These are typically plain, utilitarian, and somewhat ugly things. But I thought I could form the V from the antenna of a butterfly.

The Idea

This photo is of the day I got the idea and sketched it out. As you can see, I keep a stack of steno pads handy at work to capture notes, with one pad per project, idea, issue, topic, etc.

03-28-2016 07:41 AM

Template

I refined my idea and sketched the finished plan onto Bristol board and cut it out. I then used the resulting template to transfer the outline to thick pine boards. I then cut the pine boards with a jigsaw. This template also helped me determine the size and placement of the crosspiece riser (so the boot jack is stabilized at an angled) and the screw placement to join the two pieces together. The sketch also includes enough information as a guide for the black areas.

Ready for Coloring

The wood has been cut, sanded, assembled, and painted with a base Annie Sloan Pure White chalk paint. Then a basic acrylic black craft paint to delineate the wing cells and features. 11/09/2017

Color Experiments

I used Procreate on an iPad Pro to experiment with various color combinations. Most of the intended recipients had a favorite color (or two) or decor color to start with. The combinations that passed muster were then organized together in a layer group for easy reference during the coloring phase of the project.

Finished Boot Jacks

After coloring and blending with Prismacolors, about six different coats of fixative were applied to protect the colors. It also serves as a barrier between the color and the final protective layer of Annie Sloan clear wax. Which would otherwise dissolve and smear the Prismacolors.

The belly/footpad is a sheet of self-adhesive rubber. I shielded this from the fixative spray with paper, and held in place with blue painter's tape. WARNING: blue painter's tape can bond with rubber and is much stronger than you'd think. I had to recut replacements for a couple of the pads that were torn by the blue painter's tape.

To protect the boot/shoe from marring from harsh wood, the inside of the antenna was lined with a soft fabric strip. The loop side of a roll of hook&loop was the perfect width, length, and softness for my project.

The entire set was finished before Thanksgiving and were wrapped and given out the following Christmas.